The class of polymers of carbon monoxide and olefin(s) has been known for a number of years. Brubaker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,286, produced such polymers of relatively low carbon monoxide content in the presence of free radical initiators, e.g., peroxy compounds. U.K. Pat. No. 1,081,304 produced similar polymers of higher carbon monoxide content in the presence of alkylphosphine complexes of palladium salts as catalyst. Nozaki extended the process to produce linear alternating polymers through the use of arylphosphine complexes of palladium moieties and certain inert solvents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,412.
More recently, the class of linear alternating polymers of carbon monoxide and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon has become of greater interest in part because of the greater availability of polymers. Such polymers, for example copolymers of carbon monoxide and ethylene or terpolymers of carbon monoxide, ethylene and propylene, are often referred to as polyketones or polyketone polymers and have been shown to be of the repeating formula --CO--A-- where A is the moiety of unsaturated hydrocarbon polymerized through the ethylenic unsaturation. By way of illustration, when the unsaturated hydrocarbon is ethylene, the polymers are represented by the repeating formula --CO--CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --. The general process for the production of such polymers is illustrated by a number of published European Patent Applications including Nos. 121,965, 181,014, 222,454 and 257,663. The process generally involves the use of a catalyst composition formed from a compound of palladium, cobalt or nickel, the anion of a non-hydrohalogenic acid having a pKa below 2 and a bidentate ligand of phosphorus, arsenic or antimony.
The resulting polyketone polymers are relatively high molecular weight thermoplastics having established utility in the production by conventional procedures of shaped articles such as containers for food and drink and shaped parts for the automotive industry. For some particular applications it has been shown to be desirable to have properties which are somewhat different from those of the polyketone polymer. It would be of advantage to retain the desirable properties of the polyketone polymer and yet improve other properties. These advantages are often obtained through the provision of a polymer blend.